Around and Around We Go
by Portraits4thehopeless
Summary: Meredith Grey knew that Thatcher was an alcoholic and cheater before his divorce from her mother. Ellis had told her that a night of drinking resulted in the end of his marriage and the birth of a daughter the same age as her. She never thought she'd meet her sister until a dark hair woman came to Seattle with no knowledge of who her father was or that she had siblings. L/S D/M AU.
1. Prolog: How To Save A Life

**This is my first time writing for Grey's! Love the show and miss Lexie and Sloan! This story popped in my head a few years ago and it's finally ready to be shared! I am also writing a few other stories with this account and another account I have. So I'm a busy person but I will always reply and I try to update once a week on Mondays or Sundays depending. **

**This story is AU so if that's not your cup of tea I'm fine with that just don't flame me for it. **

**All errors are my own:( Sorry!**

**P4TH:)**

* * *

**Prolog: How to Save a Life**

_"...Where did I go wrong?_  
_I lost a friend_  
_Somewhere along in the bitterness_  
_And I would have stayed up with you all night_  
_Had I known how to save a life_  
_How to save a life_  
_How to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong?_  
_I lost a friend_  
_Somewhere along in the bitterness_  
_And I would have stayed up with you all night_  
_Had I known how to save a life_

_Where did I go wrong?_  
_I lost a friend_  
_Somewhere along in the bitterness_  
_And I would have stayed up with you all night_  
_Had I known how to save a life_  
_How to save a life_  
_How to save a life..."_

**~ "How to Save a Life" - The Fray**

"I got into a fight," Nineteen year old Lexie Grey said quickly. Trying to come up with a lie that would pass as an excuse as to why she has a deep six inch gasp over her ribs. The Doctor who was stitching her up raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"You can do better. You used that last time on me"

"Self-mutilation," Lexie said drawing for straws while trying not to grin. It was their game and even though he'd always chastise her in the end for how she'd gotten hurt, she knew that he did care. Otherwise he wouldn't always drop what he was doing to simply come help her. Mark Sloan, fourth year resident, narrowed his eyes as he stitched up the gash.

"Not buying it either," he told her, "Try again."

"Car accident?"

"That's just stupid. What officer would believe that?"

"I fell."

"Now you're just pulling it out your ass."

"My stepdad," Lexie said quietly and Mark looked up at her.

"Now that makes sense," he told her just as quietly, "Why'd he do it this time?"

She winced as he made another stitch, "He's a drunk and my mother is poor and defenseless. I'm a college student. I go to Harvard but I come home every weekend and as often I can to be with her…defending her. So Doctor Sloan, is that stupider than a car accident?"

Making the last stitch, Mark looked up at her and shook his head, "Its bravery. It's an act of love that you shouldn't have to do. No one can help your mom but herself. Neither of you deserve to be abused."

Lexie looked up at the ceiling, "She's my mother and I love her. I can't just abandon her like everyone says I should. My father abandoned us, I won't abandon her."

Mark watched her as she lowered her shirt and looked back at him, "Miss Grey-"

"Lexie," she interrupted.

"Alright Lexie," Sloan tried again, "It's stitched up but don't lift anything heavy. You'll rip my stitches."

"Anything else?"

"The next time I see you, I'd rather it be over a drink or dinner. Not me stitching you up again for the hundredth time. I practice more on you then I've ever on done on fruit."

Lexie grinned, "That's kinda romantic. Are you asking for a date?"

Sloan looked at her and gave an innocent look, "It would be inappropriate for me to ask a patient out."

"How about Logan's Bar after your shift tomorrow night? You have my number on file. See you then. Is that better? Or is it inappropriate for the patient to ask the Doctor?"

Sloan grinned.

* * *

_Two Years Later…_

"I think it's romantic," her friend Addison Shepard smiled, "You're getting married today and starting med school in a few weeks. Are you excited?"

"To get married or going to med school?" Lexie asked with a grin as Addison adjusted her veil.

She was about to reply when the door opened and the both turned to see Mrs. Shepard and Derek grinning.

"It's almost time to go," Mrs. Shepard smiled, "We've got to get everyone in place but I just wanted to wish you luck."

Mrs. Shepard gave Lexie a big hug before ducking away and taking Addison with her. Derek stayed and grinned, "You're going to knock him off his feet."

"I'm nervous," she admitted, "I'm walking by myself. What if I fall over? What if I trip? What if I-"

"Relax Lex," Derek laughed, "If you're that nervous I can walk you down the aisle."

She looked at him tearfully, "You'd do that for me?"

"Lexie you're like my baby sister. Of course I would. Just let me go and let my mother know so she can make all the appropriate changes. Okay?"

Lexie nodded and watched Derek leave. She was marrying Mark and she couldn't help but smile. She wasn't afraid of marrying him, it was the most confident decision she'd ever made. Instead, she just didn't want to face plant on her wedding day.

Mark had proposed at the Shepard's Christmas dinner and it had been a wonderful memory. He'd saved the engagement ring for last and had given her a large box. It had taken nearly twenty minutes to un-wrap the smaller boxes that were in the bigger boxes. In the end, a small velvet stuffed heart had had the ring attached to it. She couldn't even recall what Mark had said but she could remember being so happy that all she could think about was saying yes. The minute that the ring had been slipped on her finger, wedding mania had taken ahold of Derek's sisters and Mrs. Shepard. Having Mrs. Shepard there had been a blessing in disguise though. Her step-father had disapproved of Mark from the minute that she'd brought Mark to meet her mother. He'd cut off all contact between them and it broke her heart.

Jerry Ezitka had forbidden her from coming back to her to childhood home that day and hadn't talked to her since. She hadn't talked to her own mother in nearly seven months and even though it broke her heart, she knew that others had been right when they'd said that only her mother could help herself now. There wasn't enough begging and pleading that she could do that would convince her mother to leave Jerry Ezikta. In the end, she'd promised Mark that she'd never go back to the house by herself and she had every intention of keeping that promise.

While Mark had studied for his second set of boards for becoming and ENT surgeon, she'd spent her time juggling school and making sure that she didn't drown in wedding plans. Mrs. Shepard had insisted on paying for the wedding just like she'd paid for Addison and Derek's wedding a few years prior and wouldn't hear a word about either of them paying a dime. She'd gone all out on everything from the reception to the wedding dress.

Smoothing her hands over the front of her dress, Lexie smiled at the reflection she could see in the clear glass windows of the room in the church where she waited. The dress was a light champagne color with cap sleeves made of lace. A thick bank of lace and beading went around her tiny waist. Her hair was pulled back in an elegant bun near the base of her neck. The dress was a beautiful satin floor length gown with an A-line silhouette and a natural waistline. Her favorite part of the dress was the back. The sleeves came together over her neck with three pearl buttons. The dress opened up into an almost rhombus shape that showed some skin but came together mid-back and started a trail of pearl buttons down to the end of her train.

It had taken hours to find the dress but it was worth it. The dress was simple enough that she truly felt like her own natural beauty wasn't overpowered. Picking up the diamond studs that she'd gotten from Mark as an early wedding gift, Lexie put them on as the small diamond bracelet that Mrs. Shepard had given her as a birthday present sparked in the light.

"You ready?" Derek asked with a smile as he poked his head back in, "I've got the flowers."

He held up a bouquet of two dozen roses and Lexie smiled, "I'm ready."

* * *

Mark Sloan could feel his stomach twisting in knots. He was nervous and wondering where the hell his best man was. Derek was supposed to be standing him up and he was ready to kill him. The six bridesmaids and grooms had already descended down the aisle and it was Lexie turn. The piano that was playing the wedding march began and everyone stood up.

The front doors of the church were open and the warm summer breeze blew in. He could see the outline of her dress against the open doors. What surprised him was Derek standing next to her. He grinned knowing that Lexie was using him to get over her fear. She'd told him that falling or tripping was her biggest fear and he found himself not minding that she was going to let Derek walk her down the aisle.

His heart thudded loudly in his chest and he wondered if anyone else could hear it beating. She was beautiful and the closer he got, the knots in his stomach dissipated. Lexie's smile made her glow and he couldn't help but smile back at her. He barely remembered Derek reaching them and giving him Lexie's hand. His congratulations registered in Sloan's mind and it was almost an out of body experience as he thanked his oldest friend for everything. Turning to look at Lexie, he could barely believe that she was actually marrying him.

* * *

_Four Years Later…_

Mark could hear his beeper going off but wrapped his arm tightly around Lexie's waist.

"Your beeper," she murmured in her sleep.

"It's a dream."

A sharp kick to his shin made him open his eyes and roll over. He grabbed the beeper off the night stand and groaned.

"It's a 911. I have to go."

Lexie leaned over on her side and turned the nightstand light on. Mark pushed the heavy comforter back and stood up wincing as the cold hard wood floors touched his feet. Walking to the walk-in closet, he grabbed his usual navy blue scrubs and changed. Grabbing his Nike tennis shoes and a pair of socks, Mark went back to the bedroom and sat down on Lexie's side of the bed. She'd scooted back towards the middle of the bed and pulled the covers around her naked form.

"Did it saw what was wrong?" she asked sleepily.

"A burn victim, ninety percent of his body is covered in burns," Mark said looking over his shoulder at her before putting his shoes on.

"So you won't need me to make breakfast this morning?" she said sounding more alert.

"Don't sound so excited," Mark teased as he stood up. Leaning down, he kissed her glossy brownish-red hair and closed his eyes, "Go back to sleep Lex. I'll call you when I'm done and heading out."

Lexie nodded and pressed her lips against his quickly. She stole a few more kisses before Mark pulled away and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you too. Now go. You've got quite a bit of work to do," Lexie mumbled pulling his pillow over her body and wrapping her arms around it. Mark smiled and shut the light off. He quietly crept out of the brownstone townhouse making sure to reset the alarm and lock the door behind him.

* * *

Lexie rolled over in bed an hour later as she heard her own phone ringing loudly. Blindly grabbing it off her nightstand, she didn't bother to look at the Caller ID as she answered.

"Hello?" she said trying to sound wakeful.

"Lexie?"

The voice made her sit up in shock as she heard a voice she hadn't heard in over four years.

"Mom?"

"Oh Lexie please! Come help!" Jenny Ezitka cried over the phone, "It's Jerry! He's…"

"I'm coming mom, okay? Just don't give him anymore gin."

Lexie hung up the phone and sighed. She'd promised Mark that she'd never go back to the house. She'd promised that she'd never put herself in danger to save her mother again. Pushing back the covers, Lexie grabbed the satin nightgown that she'd been wearing before Mark had suggested that she take it off so they could sleep naked and stay warm and slipped it on. Grabbing a trench coat and ballet flats, she didn't bother to do her make up but threw her hair up into a haphazard bun. She grabbed the keys to the Mercedes Benz and her purse before walking out the door.

"Morning Mrs. Sloan," her neighbor smiled as she stood on her porch.

"Good morning Mrs. Baker," Lexie smiled back. It was just after five am and the old woman was getting the morning paper.

"Off to see that husband of yours?" Mrs. Baker winked.

"My mother," she correct as she unlocked the Mercedes, "Have a good day."

"You too dear," Mrs. Baker smiled as Lexie got into the passenger seat. She quickly sped off. Her mother lived outside of the city limits and was a good hour drive away. The first half of the trip passed in silence until Lexie sighed knowing that she'd have to call someone to let them know where she was before Mark came home and freaked out because he couldn't find her.

"Call Addison," she told the Bluetooth.

Addison picked up on the first ring.

"Good morning," she said sounding happy.

"Hey I'm sorry to call you so early. Is Mark still in surgery by any chance?" Lexie asked as she looked over her shoulder to see if there was a car in the next lane before she moved over.

Addison chuckled, "He is, though he didn't look at all happy when he got here. What was up with him? You two get into the mother of all fights?"

"He had the day off," she answered and couldn't help but smile, "He told me all he wanted to do was be lazy and instead he got a call this morning around four for a surgery."

"That would put me in a bad mood too. What's going on?"

"I'm on my way to see my mother," Lexie sighed, "I got a call from her around five. Something was happening and she sounded distressed and I care and it's pathetic so I'm going to go make sure she's alright."

"Alexandra, Mark is going to flip when he finds out that you're going out there. You promised him you'd never go back there. You and I both know that Mark hated it every time he had to stich you up for some reason."

"I know but she's my mother and I can't ignore a call for help."

Addison sighed, "Are you asking me to distract him until you get back or-"

"No. I was just calling so that someone knew where I was at in case…"

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Addison said firmly, "Now focus on driving. You'll get there sooner.I will cover for you in case Mark asks. I'll just say you went shoe shopping for me or something."

Lexie burst out laughing and smiled, "Bye Addie."

"See you Lex."

She disconnected the phone and forty-five minutes later found herself pulling into the driveway of what used to be a beautiful two story Victorian house. Now it the paint was chipped, windows had cracks in them and the lawn was overgrown. The sun was just rising as she opened the car door and slipped out. The surrounding houses were beautiful and well-kept but her mother's house was just an eye sore. Before Jenny had married Jerry Ezikta, Lexie could remember the house being warm, beautiful and inviting. But everything had changed when Jenny had married the son of a bitch on her tenth birthday. Walking up the overgrown path that used to be a beautiful garden, Lexie knocked on the front door and waited looking around the dead plants and flowers around her.

"Mom?" she called after a minute, "Mom? It's Lexie!"

When no one answered, Lexie took the key from under the welcome mat and opened the door. The inside of the house wasn't much better. Liquor bottles were in the living room floor and the house had a fishy smell to it that made Lexie feel a bit nauseous.

"Mom?" she called again. The house was silent as Lexie closed the door behind her and walked into the dining room that was across from the living room. The table hadn't been dusted in a while and the more Lexie saw, the more Lexie wanted to get her mother and herself out of the house. Going to the kitchen, she found the water running in the sink and shut it off. Something just wasn't right; she could feel it in her stomach.

The door to the downstairs was open and Lexie slowly took the steps down into the dark basement. Flipping the lights on, the scream of terror lodged in her throat. Her mother lay on the cement floor with blood everywhere. The back of her head was missing like it had been blown off and her dead open eyes stared back at Lexie in a haunting way.

"I knew she called you," a voice slurred from behind her.

Lexie turned to look at her stepfather. Her hands were shaking as he held up a gun and pointed it at her.

"Go lay on the floor next to her," he said stumbling with the gun.

"Jerry…please…don't do this," she begged as a tear fell down her cheek, "Please let's get help. You can get help. Please."

"Shut up!" he roared, "She had her chance and she called you! I told her never to speak to you again and she disobeyed! That bitch needed to learn her lesson."

"So you killed her?"

"Go lay down on you back next to her," Jerry threatened again.

Lexie put her hands up and slowly took steps backward to her mother. Lying down next to her, Lexie tried not to sob at feeling her mother's cool blood saturate her back and clothes.

"I never did like you," Jerry slurred, "If she hadn't slept with that fucking Thatcher Grey before we met you wouldn't be here and that would be a fucking miracle."

Hearing her father's name made Lexie's eyes widen. Her mother had never spoken of her father and always refused to answer any questions. She'd only ever known his name and Jerry was only pouring salt over a deep wound. He cocked the gun and took a swig of gin.

Swallowing, Jerry grinned at her.

"Rot in hell with your whore of a mother bitch," he slurred before the gun went off three times.

* * *

"Don't you look happy," Derek grinned at his best friend as he stood at the nurse's station in the ER filling out a chart.

"I'm not happy," Mark said not bothering to look up, "I got dragged away from my naked wife and a warm bed this morning. Now I've gotten roped into doing the ER. I'm anything but happy."

Derek chuckled and handed the nurse a chart, "I thought you had the day off."

"I thought I did too. I told Lexie I'd even cook dinner."

"You cooking?" Derek laughed, "Now that's a sight I'd pay to see. Hey, Addie and I were gonna go out later this week did you and Lexie wanna come?"

Mark scowled, "I don't want to go out to dinner with Addison."

Derek raised his eyebrows and looked surprised, "Why?"

"We've got a trauma flying in! Let's go Shepard!" Doctor Orsini called as he jogged to the elevator.

The ride to the roof was quick and the stepped out as the helicopter landed.

"Twenty-six year old woman with three GSW's to the chest, a paramedic yelled, "She's a Jane Doe. Found her in a basement next to another woman. She lost consciousness before we got to her and we've been doing CPR on and off for the last ten minutes."

"Page Doctor Feldman," Derek said as they went into the elevator, "Tell her she's got a trauma victim."

The nurse nodded and quickly picked up the elevator phone and dialed the correct number and repeated the orders. They quickly exited the elevator when the doors opened and went to Trauma room one as Mark followed them.

"What do we have?"

"Gunshot wounds to the chest. She's a Jane Doe they found her in a basement. We need to move her over. On my mark," Derek said, "One, two, three!"

They lifted the Jane Doe from the gurney to the bed and everyone began working. Derek checked her head as a nurse began undoing the straps that kept her on the board and another began cutting away clothing.

"Mark go call radiology and tell them that we're gonna need x-rays stat. She's got no head injure that I can tell but it doesn't mean it's not there." Derek said as a nurse cut away her blood saturated clothing, "Someone get towels or something to wipe away this blood so we can work."

Mark left the room as Feldman hurried in looking calm.

"Three GSWs?" she asked quickly putting on gloves, "That's a lot of blood Shepard. You give her any units yet?"

"No," Derek said, "She's a Jane Doe and we just got her."

The monitors started going crazy and Jane Doe's heart rate plummeted.

"Get chest tubes and intubate her," Feldman ordered, "We have to get her to surgery right now or we're going to lose her."

A nurse came back with the towels and Derek took one. He wiped away the blood on the woman's face and froze.

Lexie.

"You're Jane Doe has a name," Derek said without emotion as Feldman put in a chest tube.

"Obviously," the other doctor said sounding bored.

"Lexie Sloan."

Feldman's head jerked up, "As in the wife of Doctor Mark Sloan who is out there calling radiology?"

Derek nodded as the nurses raised the rails on the bed.

"We have to move now if she's gonna live. She's got major abdominal bleeding and I think she has bullet in her lung possibly," Feldman said, "You go tell him while we go to surgery and you better pray because she's gonna need all the prayers she can get."

* * *

"I called radiology," Mark said as he put the phone down and watched as nurses walked around him.

Derek looked at his friend before turning to a nurse, "Page Doctor Montgomery-Shepard, please. Tell her it's an emergency."

Mark raised an eyebrow, "Everything okay?"

"We need to talk," Derek said as he guided Mark to a private conference room down the hall.

"What's going on?" Mark asked again sounding annoyed.

"I'll be right back. Don't move."

Just as he returned to the nurse's station Addison showed up looking worried.

"What's wrong?"

"Lexie just came into the ER with three GSWs to the chest," Derek said running a hand through his hair, "Mark doesn't know and I need to go check on her before I tell him anything. Sit with him. It doesn't look good."

Addison started to protest but Derek rushed past her. She slowly walked to the conference room and opened the door. Mark looked at her and looked pissed.

"Addison," he growled.

"Mark," she replied with a shaky voice.

"When are you going to stop?"

"Stop?"

"Sleeping with the oncologist? Rivers? Ring a bell? How about making Lexie promise not to tell anyone? Jesus do you have any sense at all?"

"She told you," Addison said as the color drained from her face.

"Of course she told me," Mark scoffed, "You've pinned her in the middle between you and Derek. Now every time we go out with you two on a double date she nearly has a panic attack in the bathroom. What kind of friend does that to their friends? You should tell him that you're cheating or I will. I'm not going to watch you hurt my wife and best friend. Tell him."

Addison looked ashamed for a moment before the door was opened again and Derek walked in.

"What the hell is going on?" Mark asked standing up, "I've got patients and charts to do. I'd like to get home by noon so make this fast."

"You're gonna wanna sit down Mark," Derek said quietly.

"Shepard you're trying me patience. I'd like to go home and see-"

"This is about Lexie," Addison said feeling compassion for Mark. They were going to ruin his world and even though she was mad at him for threatening her, she felt sorry for him. Mark stopped and stared at them with fear in his face.

"What about Lexie?"

"Does she have a birthmark?" Derek asked.

"Why the hell would I tell you that?"

"Just answer the question," Addison sighed.

"A small circle on the side of her left breast," Mark answered picking up on their worried expressions, "What the hell is going on?"

"The Jane Doe that came in," Derek started slowly, "She was brought her from Lexie's mother's address. She has a birthmark on her left breast. It's her. It's Lexie. I've seen her face after they cleaned up the blood."

"She's at home asleep," Mark snapped back, "She was asleep when I left."

"She called me this morning," Addison said quietly as both men's heads jerked to look at her, "She was going to her mother's house. Lexie had gotten a call from her mother and said that her mother sounded distressed."

They watched Mark slowly sit down looking panicked.

"Is she…is she dead?" Mark asked quietly fearing the answer, "Am I going to have to bury her? Is my wife dead Derek?"

"No," he said, "Feldman is with her. She's coded twice but if she gets through surgery then there is a very good chance that she'll be okay."

Mark covered his face with his hands and let out a shaky breath of relief. He didn't think he'd be able to go on without her.

* * *

There was a steady beeping from the monitor as Mark started down at Lexie. She was pale with tubes and IVs everywhere. They'd had to cut into her trachea to get her to breath during surgery. They had no idea if she fallen or something because the tube to help her breath wouldn't go down her throat. Cutting in had been their only option at the time to save her life. Mark understood that but seeing her like this was painful.

One of the bullets had missed her aorta by a few millimeters and the other had missed her heart by a centimeter. Lexie was so lucky to be alive still. Most people still wouldn't be fighting after that kind of trauma. Pushing a few strands of hair away from her forehead, Mark bent down and placed a soft kiss on her head.

"Oh Lex…why did you have to go back," he asked softly.

"How's she doing?"

Mark looked up to see Derek standing there watching them.

"There's been no change. I don't expect any either."

"she's alive and there's no brain damage. That's a lot to be grateful for," Derek replied.

Mark nodded and looked back down at Lexie. The nurse had come in earlier and cleaned most of the blood off her body. Testing had shown that the majority of it had been Jenny Ezitka's. His mother-in-law had been shot in the head at point blank range ten minutes after she'd called Lexie. When Lexie had found her, Jerry had forced her to lay down next to her mother. The thought of what she'd been through made Mark's stomach turn but he was thankful that the police had Jerry Ezitka in custody because he'd kill the man if he saw him again.

"You asked me early why I didn't want to go out to dinner with you and Addison earlier," Mark blurted out without thinking as he brushed his fingers through Lexie's hair, "Addison has been sleeping with that oncologist named Rivers and has been using Lexie as her cover. Shopping, parties…anything you can think of. I don't want to go out to dinner with you because Lexie gets worked up and worried that Addison will say something and force Lexie to cover for her again. She had a panic attack in the bathroom the last time we went out. I'm sorry but I thought you should know that Addison is cheating on you."

When he looked up, Derek was gone and alarms started going off as Lexie's heart rate plummeted again.

* * *

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**Next chapter will be out soon! **


	2. Part One: Hurt

**Sorry for not updating yesterday! Here's the next chapter and I'm sorry it's a little shorter than normal! All errors are my own! English is not my first language and I've been trying to catch all the errors but some slip by. Hopefully not this time though! Sorry! **

**P4TH**

* * *

**Part One: Hurt**

_"…I would hold you in my arms, I would take the pain away  
Thank you for all you've done, forgive all your mistakes  
There's nothing I wouldn't do to hear your voice again  
Sometimes I wanna call you but I know you won't be there_

_Oh, I'm sorry for blaming you_  
_For everything I just couldn't do_  
_And I've hurt myself by hurting you_

_Some days I feel broke inside but I won't admit_  
_Sometimes I just wanna hide 'cause it's you I miss_  
_And it's so hard to say goodbye when it comes to this, ooh_

_Would you tell me I was wrong? Would you help me understand?_  
_Are you looking down upon me? Are you proud of who I am?_  
_There's nothing I wouldn't do to have just one more chance_  
_To look into your eyes and see you looking back…"_

**~ "Hurt" –Christina Aguilera **

**Six Months Later…**

"You look old," Derek said hugging Mark Sloan in the cafeteria at Seattle Grace. He'd been surprised when Mark had called saying he'd be in town for a conference and wanted to meet up. They hadn't said goodbye on the best terms when Derek had left New York. He'd left the hospital and had only called once to see if Lexie was alright and even then he'd only talked to a nurse who had told him about the miscarriage Lexie had suffered as a result of the trauma. Even after that he'd never called Mark or Lexie to give his condolences or ask how they were. He'd been too afraid of seeing or talking to Addison.

Mark gave a firm hug back and chuckled, "I'm still hot though."

"Is that what Lexie tells you so you sleep better night?" Derek joked.

"She tells me it after our throws of passion," Sloan grinned as they sat down at a cafeteria table.

Derek winced but smirked, "Not the image I needed. Especially after this when I have surgery."

"How do you like it here?" Sloan asked before taking his coffee and gulping some burning hot liquid down.

Derek shrugged, "It's a good hospital. I like my co-workers."

"You have the hot intern as your mistress too. Liked the email. I had to deleted so Lexie wouldn't see it," Mark grinned, "Now correct me if I'm wrong but she doesn't know you're married, right?"

"Way to just kill the moment."

Sloan leaned back in his chair and looked at him amused, "You know, if I was dating Lexie and she found out that I was married to another woman, she'd probably have the biggest freak out to date. Worse than that freak out she had in med school when she thought she failed her psych classes. You remember that? She gave herself an asthma attack because she was having a panic attack and couldn't breathe. Then when I got her calmed down you told her that she'd get kicked out of medical school and she freak out all over again."

Derek smiled, "I did not. Anyways, you married her so I guess that hypothetical crisis you started off with was averted. You actually married Lexie and settled down. I'm impressed."

"Yeah well, I'm not exactly impressed. What are you going to do about your hot intern? What if Addison shows up looking for you to sign divorce papers?"

"She won't. She's more preoccupied with Lexie," Derek defended.

"Right…because she's spending time with Lexie," Mark said sarcastically and the air between them became frosty. There was a long pause and Derek shifted uncomfortably. Using what had happened to Lexie as an excuse had been unfair and inappropriate.

"How is she?" Derek asked after a few minutes, "I'm sorry I left you when you both needed me the most. Just hearing that Addison was…I'm sorry."

"She's been having more good days then bad. She lost our baby when Ezitka shot her. For the most part she's been recovering but she refuses to go downstairs to the basement. If she needs something she just tells me where it's at and I go get it," Mark sighed, "In regards to what happened with Addison, if anything it was my fault. I shouldn't have blurted out what was happening. But I just saw Lexie laying there and somehow my mind thought that if I revealed what was happening with Addison it would be just one less thing she had to worry about. You found out, ran away. Addison has been a mess and Lexie has been slowly recovering."

"It's been nearly six months," Derek said without any reason.

"Do you honestly think that either of us would recover from what happened in six months? It will take years for Lexie to recover. I doubt she'll ever go in any basement again. I hired a maid to come in and run the washing machine and dryer because Lexie is petrified of going down stairs and I don't have time to do laundry."

"I'm sorry that was a dumb statement," Derek said shaking his head, "I saw that Ezitka was sentenced to life without any chance of getting out."

"He should have gotten the death penalty," Mark said quietly, "He killed two people. My mother-in-law and my unborn child but instead he gets a cushy cell in upstate New York. My child's birthday would have been around this time of the year. I could have been a father right now to some little boy or girl. Every time I pass a park or look out at my backyard all I can think of is that little kid I'm never going to get to hold or play with. I'm never gonna get to cheer that kid on at a soccer game or clap at a piano recital. I keep thinking if this is how I feel, Lexie has to feel a thousand times worse. She keeps blaming herself for going to Jenny's aid. It's been hard to convince her she's not to blame."

Derek nodded but didn't say anything. There wasn't much he could say to Mark. Nothing was going to take away his pain and Lexie's suffering.

"Did you ever think about coming out here? Moving to Seattle? I think Lexie would like the change. It would help her," Derek finally suggested, "Both of you. Richard Webber has been looking for a new head for plastics and we're one of the best teaching hospitals in the country. I'm sure I can convince Webber to let Lexie into the program."

Mark nodded, "I'll think about it and talk to Lexie. She's the decision maker."

Derek grinned, "You're so whipped."

"Don't tell anyone," Mark grinned back, "To be honest; I'm okay with her being in charge. It's kinda hot."

* * *

"Who were you having coffee with?" Meredith asked as she walked with him down the hall towards surgery. They were doing a craniotomy later after lunch and Derek wanted to pick up some papers before they went out to lunch.

"Huh?" he asked distractedly as he thought about everything that Sloan and Lexie had gone through. They had lost a child because of a drunken man and a gun. He could feel their pain in away and understood the blame that Lexie could feel. He felt the same way about his own father sometimes. If only things had gone differently. If only he'd done something differently, maybe his father would still be alive.

"Derek? Your coffee date? Who was he?" Meredith asked again bring him out of his thoughts.

"Oh?"

"Who was he?" Meredith pressed again with a small smile, "The guy you were having coffee with?"

Derek pushed the door open to his office and walked in. Meredith followed looking at him questioningly as Derek flipped through his desk looking for papers.

"So?"

"So? What?" Derek said sounding distracted again as he shuffled papers on his desk uncomfortably and nervously hoping that she'd drop the subject. He didn't want the whole Addison issue to blow up in his face especially now when things were beginning to look up for him and Meredith.

"Who was he?" Meredith asked again sounding irritated that he was ignoring her on purpose.

"A friend from New York, his name is Mark Sloan."

"As in plastics god Mark Sloan? The Sloan they fly all over the country to do face transplants?"

"Yeah, I was friends with him and his wife in New York. He was here for that ENT conference and stopped to say hello," Derek replied looking up at her, "Do you want his social security number too? Home address? I can give you his wife's number and you can call her and ask what it's like being married to a plastics god. I'm sure she'd love to chat about his inflated ego."

Meredith smiled and rolled her eyes at his teasing, "The nurses think he's hot. The minute he walked in her they started talking."

"The nurses should know he's taken," Derek said looking up at Meredith as he rambled on hoping to change the subject, "She's a wonderful woman and don't think Mark Sloan would ever willingly cheat on her. She did a one eighty on him and his life. I can't even remember the old Mark Sloan now that there's this new one. She's a gem and I think you'd like her. So warn the nurses off."

"I'm not surprised," Meredith grinned, "The cute ones always are but you are the gem that I found and I plan on keeping for a very long time."

Derek tried not to wince at just how correct her words were. He was married and he could here Mark laughing in his head about the irony of Meredith's words.

* * *

"You want to do what?" Lexie asked as she stood in the master bedroom of their brownstone home near central park staring at Mark like he'd just sprouted a second head.

"Let's move to Seattle," Mark said again as he laid in the center of their bed, "It would be good for both of us. Richard Webber is looking for a new head of plastics and they have one of the best surgical programs in the country. Plus they have ferryboats. You'd love ferryboats."

Lexie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, "How long have we been together?"

"Eight years."

"Have I ever once said that I like Ferryboats?"

"No but you never know," Mark said quickly, "You could like them."

"Mark, do you have any idea how much we would have to do in order to move to Seattle?" Lexie sighed, "We'd have to pack, find somewhere to live, sell this place. The list goes on. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. I just got through with physical therapy and it just seems so overwhelming right now."

"Lexie we can easily hire people to do that," Mark told her as she came to lay down next to him on the bed, "I'm not going to make you do anything that is too vigorous or exhausting. If you don't feel up to it, that's fine. I will completely forget the idea. I just thought that it would be a change and change can be good."

Lexie rested her head against his chest and stared at the flat screen TV that was cased in an entertainment center across from their bed.

"Ferryboats aren't that bad are they?" she said after a near half hour of silence.

Mark chuckled and pulled her close, "No they're not bad at all."

* * *

"Derek is seeing an intern?!"

Sloan looked quickly up from the medical journal he'd been reading on the couch a few weeks later in their nearly empty living room. Lexie stood in the walkway between the living room and kitchen holding his phone and looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Give me that," Mark said yanking the phone out of her hand, "That's private!"

"Are we moving to Seattle because of a job or because you want to be closer to Derek and whoever the hell M is?"

"A job obviously and your internship."

Lexie raised eyebrow, "Really? I have a hard time believing that now. Especially after the fact you didn't even mention this new girlfriend of his or whatever."

"I didn't think it was relevant," Mark said and quickly regretted his words as Lexie's eyebrow went even higher and her hands went to her hips.

She stared at him for a few minutes before shaking her head and muttering the word unbelievable under her breath. She walked to the hallway and grabbed her coat. Mark heard the front door close and looked up at the high ceiling.

"You just had to do that to me didn't you?" he said out loud to no one in particular. Grabbing a card board box, Mark made his way upstairs to pack his office. Almost everything had been packed accept the closet. Opening the door, he stopped. A black Elle Saab sequenced dress hung on the back of the door. Memories came racing back of that night and Mark sat down to just stare at it.

_A fundraiser was being held at a fancy hotel in the upper east side of Manhattan. Mark rested his arm on the back of Addison's chair as she engaged in an animated conversation with Mrs. Shepard about some new procedure she'd done earlier. Her dark red hair was piled on top of her head in curls and she wore a tight purple dress that showed off her curves. Mark turned and looked at his own date. An interior designer, Jenna Bentley was a blond bombshell with no personality and wore an expression that he interpreted as being bored. _

_"I'm sure Lexie would be just fascinated by it."_

_Mark jerked his head and looked at Mrs. Shepard who smiled, "She's so interested in everything."_

_He resisted the urge to say anything. They'd broken up a month ago. He'd gotten scared and had used the excuse of age. She was too young for him and wasn't ready for what he wanted. It had been a complete lie and the heartbreaking look on her face almost made him fess up then and there that he was scared but she'd left before he'd been able to do anything. _

_"Who's Lexie?" Jenna asked picking up her wine glass._

_"An old friend of mine," Addison said quickly with a smile, "She's like the little sister I've always wanted."_

_"What does she look like?" Jenna pressed, "Her name sounds familiar."_

_Mrs. Shepard quickly took out a picture of Lexie and gave it to Jenna, "She's a darling! I think of her as one of my own girls."_

_Jenna looked at the picture before she turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, "Her picture is in your apartment. She's your ex I'm assuming."_

_Mark nodded before turning and glaring at Addison. _

_"Don't look at my wife like that," Derek said kicking him under the table with a grin, "It's not their fault."_

_"So is that Lexie over there?" Jenna asked and all their heads jerked over to where she was pointing. _

_They could only see her back but Mark knew it was her. He'd kissed her body enough times to be familiar with the mole on her shoulder blade as she walked towards a table. The back of the dress was open in a 'u' shape and a small amount of fabric pooled at the bottom and dragged behind on the floor. _

_A tall man with dark blond stood up and leaned down to kiss the woman cheek when she'd reached the table. She was beautiful in the dress. Her hair was in an elegant bun at the base of her neck and he could see her dress glimmered in the low lighting. _

_He clenched his fist when the man pulled a chair out and helped her to sit down. The man pressed his lips to the shell of her ear as he whispered something. Lexie turned to look at the man but instead she turned to over her shoulder and looked directly at him. For a moment everything stopped. Her smoky eyes connected with his and he felt like she was looking inside him for a moment. _

_The man touched her hand on the table and brought it to his lips. Lexie turned back to him and Mark could in the mirrored wall her smile light up. The man whispered something in her ear as his hand touched her back intimately. _

_"I'm going to the bar," Mark announced, "Does anyone want anything?"_

_Everyone at the table but Derek answered with a no. _

_"I'll join you. Refill Addie?" _

_Derek didn't even let her reply as he grabbed her gin and tonic. He followed Mark to the bar. _

_"Scotch," Mark demanded before turning back to watch Lexie, "Who the hell is the dick she's with?"_

_Derek smiled and set Addison's drink down, "Alexander Johan, he's a Swedish crime writer. Very famous over in Scandinavia."_

_"Swedish crime writer? She's going out with a crime writer?" _

_"My mother set them up," Derek said with a grin._

_"Don't look so damn happy about it," Mark snapped as the bartender set his scotch down, "What's there to be happy about?"_

_"Is jealousy I detect?"_

_"No."_

_"You're regretting you're decision to leave her."_

_"No."_

_"Yes you are. You've been miserable since you left her and it sucks because she's not mourning you like you're mourning her. Go after her Mark. Girls like Lexie don't come around very often and you want her. Screw the age thing. It's just a number."_

_Mark looked over to see Lexie smiling halfheartedly at something the man had said and he knew at that moment that he could never let her go…_

"I never really liked that dress."

Mark looked up from where he'd lost himself in the memory and smiled. Lexie walked over to the comfy air chair that he'd sat down in and sat on his lap.

"I like that dress," Mark smiled, "I liked trying to think of all the different ways I could get you out of that dress."

Lexie snorted and rested her forehead against the side of his neck, "I'm sure you did. Just like when we got married and you kept insisting that we had to leave early so you could figure out how to do my zipper for later in the night."

Mark wrapped his arms around her and they were both silent for a few minutes before Lexie spoke up.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," she told him softly, "I'm just…"

"Just what?" Mark said looking down at her with concern, "Tell me."

"It's just been overwhelming lately and I snapped and I'm sorry," Lexie told him as she played with one of the buttons on his shirt.

"You're not feeling any pains or discomforts?" Mark asked quickly ready in the back of his mind to give her whatever she needed.

Lexie had had a rough recovery and he was still worried that she'd suffer a relapse. One of the bullets had nearly paralyzed her and it had taken her three months to learn how to walk again. He didn't want her to see her in pain or frustrated because she couldn't things.

"Not really."

"Not really?" he questioned, "Talk to me Lexie. What's wrong?"

"You're gonna think this is so childish."

"No I'm not. Tell me."

"I'm afraid of leaving all our friends behind. I don't want to be the new kid, I guess."

Mark couldn't help himself and he laughed, "Sweet heart you'll be fine. Trust me."

* * *

On March 28, Lexie looked around the intern locker room nervously. Mark had come back to New York with the insane idea of moving to Seattle with Derek. At first she'd just laughed it off but soon realized that he was serious. He'd tendered his resignation to the hospital, put their house up on the market and had begun packing things and sorting what they were going to take and what they'd leave behind. There had a brief argument about her own internship but somehow both he and Derek had pulled some strings and had gotten her into Seattle Grace. Everything she'd completed in New York was transferring to Seattle Grace and miraculously it went off without a hitch. Braiding her hair back quickly, she turned to look at the guy next to her and smiled feeling like that new kid in high school again. Most everyone here already had had friends and their own little groups.

"I'm Alexandra," she said offering her hand out. He was tall with dark hair and looked cocky.

"Alex," he said not taking her hand or looking at her. He slammed the locker shut and walked away.

"Don't mind him."

Lexie looked over to see a shorter man standing next to her.

"George O'Malley," he said offering his hand, "You are?"

"Alexandra Grey," she smiled, "I'm new here. So…today's my first day."

"Another Grey, that's cool. Both you and Meredith have the same last name. Are you guys related?"

"I've never met Meredith," Lexie said uncomfortably but continued on, "I'm hoping you could help me. I'm supposed to be an intern of Doctor Miranda Bailey. I was hoping you knew where I could find her."

George grinned, "You're with me. She's my resident too. Come on. You can meet Meredith, Izzy and the gang."

* * *

"How's the first day going?" Derek asked setting his tray down across from Mark.

"I hate interns," Mark said bluntly, "Bunch of kiss asses."

Derek grinned, "I like mine."

"You're happy because you get to boss my wife around all day knowing that when she comes home she'll be in a crappy mood and I'm bound to get yelled at for something."

"Does she always use her maiden name?" Derek asked amused.

Mark nodded, "Something about not being called Doctor Sloan…I don't know. Personally I think she's a sexy Sloan."

Derek shook his head and chuckled, "You have been married for years and yet you act like a newlywed."

"What can I say? I've got no kids, a hot wife and I'm one of the best plastic surgeons in the country," Mark shrugged, "Sue me for being happy."

"Tell me that this evening when you're getting yelled at for something," Derek grinned, "Besides, there's a bet between me and Webber about how fast it takes the whole hospital to figure out that Lexie is your wife."

* * *

**LEAVE A REVIEW! LEAVE A REVIEW! LEAVE A REVIEW!**


	3. Part Two: Hope For The Hopeless

**Thanks to everyone who left a review! **

**All Errors Are My Own:( Sorry!**

**P4TH**

* * *

**Part Two: Hope for the Hopeless**

_"…Making the best of it  
Playing the hand you get  
You're not alone in this_

_There's hope for the hopeless_  
_Hope for the hopeless_  
_There's hope_

_Cold in a summer breeze_  
_Yeah, you're shivering_  
_On your bended knee_  
_Still, when your heart is sore_  
_And the heavens pour_  
_Like a willow bending with the storm,_  
_You'll make it_

_Running against the wind_  
_Playing the cards you get_  
_Something is bound to give_

_There's hope for the hopeless_  
_Hope for the hopeless_  
_There's hope…"_

**~ "Hope For The Hopeless" – A Fine Frenzy**

Lexie put the key card for their hotel room into the door and smiled tiredly hearing the click of the lock disengaging. Opening the door and flipping the lights on, she dropped her bag down on the closest table and started stripping off her clothing as she walked to the bathroom for a shower. Mark wasn't home, which was a small blessing to her. The thought filled Lexie with guilt but she wasn't in the mood for the questions that he would ask. Turning on the hot water, Lexie stepped under the hot stream and close her eyes and the memory of the day came flashing across her mind.

George O'Malley had been sweet to her but that sweetness had dissipated a little once he realized that she would be his rival in trying to get different kinds of procedures and such on the surgical floor. Izzy Stevens had been the model who had paid her way through med school and who Alex liked to torture. Christina Yang and had said very few words to her and Lexie had the feeling that she didn't say a few words to anyone.

Meredith Grey however was the one woman who had made the effort to make her feel like a member of the group and because of that, Lexie was shunned from the group like Meredith was…

_Looking around the cafeteria, Lexie spotted the woman she'd come to know as Meredith Grey. The only thing they had in common was their last name. Walking over to the small corner table she was at, Lexie smiled and set her tray down. _

_"Hi," she smiled, "Do you mind if I sit with you?"_

_Meredith looked up surprised, "Sure but you know that by sitting with me you'll be shunned from the group."_

_"Well that speaks volumes about them individually," Lexie said sitting down, "Why are they shunning you anyway."_

_"Sleeping with the attending, Derek Shepard," Meredith smiled bitterly._

_Lexie raised an eyebrow shocked realizing that this was 'M' from Derek's message. _

_"Really?"_

_"Childish, yes but you know what they say. High school never ends."_

_Lexie smiled and rolled her eyes, "I've heard that. It doesn't mean you have that you have to care what others think."_

_"Do you care what others think?"_

_"I was told me never to care what others think. Live your life in a way that makes you happy."_

_"I like that advice," Meredith smiled… _

Lunch with Meredith had been enjoyable. They had a lot in common in tastes. They like the same music, TV shows and movies. They had both gone to Ivy League schools and had graduated at the top of their classes. It was refreshing to talk to another woman who wasn't asking her to hide anything. Meredith wasn't asking her to hide her affair with Derek Shepard. Meredith wasn't anything like Addison. They were polar opposites. Even though Addison was dear to her, sometimes being with her was suffocating. Being her secret keeper was crushing but even though she'd only met Meredith, Lexie knew that Meredith wouldn't pit her against another like Addison did. It was a small comfort but a comfort all the same. It gave her some hope that she and Mark could build a life in Seattle.

Turning off the water, Lexie grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it around her petite frame. She didn't bother with anything but drying her hair and body before she slipped into bed and settled into the soft sheets of the large bed. Closing her eyes, Lexie hoped that the childish game of the scarlet letter would be over soon. She truly felt bad for Meredith and hoped that the gossip mill would move on to better things soon for both of them.

* * *

**Two Weeks Later...**

Lexie knew the phrase April showers bring May flowers but she didn't think that it could rain as much as it had in the past two weeks in Seattle. She wondered if the phrase was really about the rain flooding the flower beds because that was what was bound to happen. Part of her wanted to punch Mark for having the crazy idea to move out here and the other part of her wanted to kick her-self for agreeing. Paying the cashier for her lunch, Lexie walked across the cafeteria to where Meredith was sitting alone in booth.

"So how was your night?" she asked with a smile as she sat down.

"It was good. Quiet but it was good," Meredith smiled, "You?"

"It was nice and quiet," Lexie replied as she opened up the lid to her salad. In the two weeks since she'd started, nothing had changed about the others. They still shunned Meredith for sleeping with her attending and shunned Lexie by association simply because she had lunch with her.

"That's nice. I have a question for you and I hope you will tell me what I want to hear."

Lexie looked up at Meredith startled. Did she know about her and Mark being married? If so, had Derek told her?

"Y-y-y-yes?" Lexie said nervously, "What's up?"

"I was thinking that you should move in with me," Meredith announced with a smile, "I have an extra room if you need one and I don't charge rent, just the usual utilities."

Lexie smiled at her sadly, "Sorry I'm married."

"Married?" Meredith looked at her in shock, "Seriously? To who?"

"A guy," she said vaguely.

"That was given. What's his name?" Meredith asked with a grin.

"Mark," Lexie smiled.

"What does he do?"

"He's a department head."

"Where?" Meredith asked.

"Local place," Lexie lied and hoped that she believed it. She wasn't ready for the whole world to know that she was married to Mark Sloan. It would be a disaster if people found out now. She and Mark

"Cool," Meredith smiled, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks."

* * *

Lexie sat cross legged on their bed that evening checking her email on the small laptop that she and Mark shared. It was late but she wasn't tired and Mark wasn't home yet. She'd always had a habit of waiting up for him when a surgery went late. Most of the time he'd call her and tell her not to wait up but she always did. Lexie stared at the computer screen that showed the one message she didn't want to reply to.

Addison.

"How was your day?"

Lexie had been so focused on the email that she hadn't heard Mark come into the hotel room. As a result, she nearly jumped off the bed when Mark pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Sorry what?" Lexie said quickly as she closed the laptop and looked up at Mark. He raised an eyebrow and took the scrub top he'd been wearing off.

"What's wrong?" he asked her as he took off his pants.

Lexie closed her eyes and sighed. She could lie to Mark which would ensure a fight or she could tell him the truth. Taking the second option, Lexie opened the laptop and showed him Addison's email.

"What do I tell her?" Lexie asked feeling frustrated.

Mark sat down on the bed next to her and read the email quickly.

"Don't reply yet," he told her as he pressed his lips against her hair, "Derek should talk to her about this. Not you."

"She's emailing me because Derek won't email her," Lexie told him as she leaned against him tiredly, "She's expecting a reply and if I don't reply it will seem like I'm blowing her off."

"Don't worry about it till tomorrow," Mark said closing the laptop and putting it on the nightstand. Lexie opened her mouth to protest but Mark gave her a look that said 'let it go'.

Pushing the covers of the bed back, Lexie laid down and sighed.

"How was work?" she asked as she cuddled up with a pillow.

"That Karev is a kiss ass," Mark told her as he got comfortable on his own side of the bed.

"Every intern is a kiss ass to you," Lexie amended as he shut of the lamp on the nightstand.

"That's not true," Mark told her as he settled back into the pillows.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," he continued with a smile she could see in the dark, "There is this one who I really like."

"Who is he?" Lexie smiled as she snugged close to him.

"There's this girl."

"A girl? Should I be jealous?"

"Maybe…"

"What's she like?" Lexie asked him.

"She's pretty," Mark smiled, "She has these eyes that could melt anyone's heart and this smile that makes you feel like you're the only person in the room."

"Really?"

"Yeah and she's kind and brilliant."

"So she's got brains and looks?"

Mark laughed, "Yes she does and I'm really glad I married her. It was the one thing I've ever done right."

Lexie smiled and kissed him.

* * *

"We need to talk," Mark said quietly to Derek when he found him at the nurse's station the next morning.

"What's up?" Derek asked as he followed him to Mark's office.

"Addison emailed Lexie," Mark announced, "She's asking where you're at and how to get in contact."

"Lexie didn't tell her anything, did she?" Derek said looking anxious.

"She hasn't replied yet."

"Tell her not reply."

"Why don't you just tell Addison where you're at? That would solve everything," Mark snapped, "She's your wife!"

"I'm not ready to talk to her," Derek defended.

"I know you don't want to have that conversation with her but you're going to have to."

"The hell I am!"

"What's going to happen when your hot little intern finds out that you're married?" Mark asked, "This is gonna blow up in your face Shepard! Don't think for a moment this won't!"

"Meredith has nothing to do with this so don't bring her into this!"

"The hell it does! You're afraid of rocking the boat! Derek you have to talk to both of them! You can't just leave everything in limbo."

"I'm not talking to Addison. That's the end of it," Derek yelled back, "I don't want to see her again."

"Addison is going to find out eventually where you're at and she's going to come here looking for you," Mark yelled back, "She's not dumb Derek! She'll find out and then what?"

"She won't find out if nobody tells her where I'm at. Just tell Lexie to keep her mouth shut."

"Don't talk about my wife like that and don't you dare talk to her like that. You involved us the minute Addison started emailing asking where you're at. I'm not letting you put Lexie in the middle like you always do when you and Addison get into it. It's not fair to her because you make her pick sides and she gets caught having to pick between friends! Not to mention it's your marriage Derek! You fix it!" Mark told him with an aggravated tone.

Derek opened his mouth to reply but the door cracked open and a nervous looking Lexie peered in.

"Both of you keep it down!" she said, "The entire surgical floor can here you two yelling."

"You tell Addison anything I will make your life a living hell here," Derek threatened angrily as he pointed a finger at her.

Lexie looked at him with shock. Derek had never threatened her and she opened her mouth to respond but Mark beat her to it.

"Shepard! I told you not to talk like that," he snapped, "You may be my friend but you don't talk to my wife like that."

Derek and Mark stared at each other as Lexie watched nervously. The men stared at each other until Derek blinked and turned away, "I can handle Addison. Both of you stay out of it."

Mark rolled his eyes as Lexie walked into the office looking worried.

"You're going to be mad me for what I did," she said as she hugged herself.

"Did you kill a patient?" he asked knowing she didn't.

"No."

"Screw up any meds?"

"No."

"What'd you do?" he asked her with a puzzled expression.

"I replied to Addison email."

Mark rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes, "What'd you tell her?"

"I didn't say anything about Meredith but I told her everything else. I couldn't lie to her. She is still a friend of mine and I don't…I don't know how not to be stuck in the middle Mark," Lexie said as she stood in the center of his office, "How angry is Derek going to be at me?"

"Derek is just angry and being and idiot. I wouldn't worry about it. He's full of empty threats."

The look Lexie gave him told him she didn't buy a word that came out of his mouth but she nodded.

"I'll see you at home," she told him before leaving the office.

* * *

Lexie bit her finger tips nervously as she sat with Meredith watching Derek's brain surgery late in the afternoon. She was still nervous about Derek's reaction to knowing that she'd tipped Addison off about where he was. He'd probably crucify her upside down like Saint Peter when he found out and then resurrect her to kill her again.

"You okay?" Meredith whispered next to her, "You look really pale."

"I'm fine," Lexie lied.

Meredith gave her a skeptical look that Lexie ignored.

"I'm surprised that _she's_ not down there. Probably didn't sleep with him enough to get into the surgery," Yang said from behind them with bitterness.

"Shut up Yang!" Lexie said swinging around to glare at Yang, "Get over yourself and whatever the problem is because it's not going to go away with every snide comment you make! Leave her alone!"

The entire gallery went silent as Lexie and Christina glared at each other. Eventually Christina looked away with a small smirk on her face and focus on the surgery. Lexie turned around and saw that the entire OR including Derek were watching them and they all wore an unreadable expression except Derek who was glaring at her. It was only then did Lexie realize that microphone had been on the entire time.

Humiliation filled her and Lexie quickly stood up and left the gallery as fast as she could. She knew that Meredith was following her but she didn't care. Pushing the door open to the supply closet, Lexie closed the door behind her as she tried to stop the anxiety attack that felt like it was going to take over that would trigger an asthma attack next like it always did. That familiar tightening in her chest that she'd had ever since Addison's affair began took over. Sinking down to the floor, Lexie tried to relax and take deep breaths but the feeling wasn't going away.

"Doctor Grey?"

It was Mark's deep voice that was calling out to her and scooted away from the door. He opened it and Meredith followed him in with worry in her eyes.

"Go get some oxygen," Mark said quickly already knowing what was going to happen. He'd seen this happen enough times since Addison had asked Lexie to cover for her.

"I can't-I can't b-b-b-b-breathe," Lexie said and it sounded like she was choking.

"Let's get you up," he told her as Meredith came in with a transportable oxygen machine.

Mark helped Lexie to stand up and he picked her up despite her protests that she could walk. He left the supply closet with Meredith following them to one of the small patient rooms that was unoccupied. Sitting Lexie down on the bed, Mark turned to Meredith.

"Out Grey!" he snapped.

Meredith looked torn but left when Mark glared at her again. Meredith left as Lexie put the oxygen mask over her mouth and nose.

"What happened?" Mark asked with concern as he looked the door behind Meredith.

"I yelled at Yang for gossiping," Lexie wheezed taking the mask from her face.

"What?" Mark said as he put the mask back on her.

"Yang was gossiping about Meredith and Derek so I told her to shut up about it."

Mark sighed, "That's not what triggered this and you know it."

"The microphone was on and everyone heard what I said. It was humiliating. Derek saw the whole thing and just glared at me. I-I-I-I'm on his service this week and it's only a matter of time till he figures out that I emailed Addison back," she said quickly as she began to panic even more.

"Lex look at me," Mark told her being gentle yet firm, "Everything is going to be fine. Okay? Don't worry about Derek or Addison alright. I will figure it out. Just try and breathe."

Lexie nodded as he brushed some hair behind her ears.

* * *

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	4. Part Three: Don't Lie

**Author's Note:**

**I'M SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! SEE A/N AT THE BOTTOM! THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO LEFT A REVIEW!:)  
**

**All Errors Are My Own:( Sorry! **

**P4TH**

* * *

**Part Three: Don't Lie**

"…_In my book of lies I was the editor  
And the author, I forged my signature_

_And now I apologize for what I did to ya_  
_'Cos what you did to me I did to you_

_No, no, no, no baby, no, no, no, no don't lie_  
_No, no, no, no, yeah, you know, know_  
_Know, know, you gotta try_  
_What you gonna do when it all comes out?_  
_When I really see you, what you're all about?_

_No, no, no, no baby, no, no, no, no don't lie_  
_'Cause you know, you know, you know_  
_You know, you know you gotta try_

_She said, I'm leaving', 'cos she can't take the pain_  
_It's hard to continue this love, it ain't the same_  
_Can't forget the things that I've done inside her brain_  
_Too many lies committed, too many games_

_She feeling like a fool getting on the last train_  
_Trying to maintain but the feeling won't change_  
_I'm sorry for the things that I've done and what I became_  
_Caught up in living my life in the fast lane…"_

~ "Don't Lie" – Black Eyed Peas

**May 5…**

Lexie was quiet as Mark pulled the Lexus into the corner park spot in the parking garage of Seattle Grace. She hadn't been sleeping well since Addison's email and Derek's angry threats that seemed never ending. When Mark wasn't around, she'd become Derek's verbal punching bag. Addison had been more and more persistent about reconciliation in the past month than she'd ever been before. It was early May and all Lexie could do was dread working with Derek every day. She wasn't always on his service but when she was, Derek put her through a lot more than he did with other interns. His excuse to her was that he was making her a good doctor but they both knew that he was punishing her for Addison's email.

Unhooking her seat belt, Lexie grabbed her bag but was stopped by Mark who put his hand on her wrist.

"I'm going to talk to Derek today," he told her softly, "This has gone on long enough."

"What has?" Lexie asked, not ready to fess up to Mark about Derek.

"Don't think for a moment that I don't know what Derek's been doing. He's so blinded by his anger at Addison that he doesn't see that he's hurting you in the process. You're exhausted Lexie from him working you into the ground unfairly while he treats Meredith like his little princess. You haven't done anything wrong professionally and he's punishing you for something that's personal. That's not fair to you."

Lexie sighed, "Don't Mark. Please don't say anything. Derek is the attending and I'm the intern. He's just…"

"Abusing his power and making everything personal," Mark interjected heatedly, "He's making it personal Lexie and that's wrong."

Lexie yanked her arm back and quickly got out of the car, "You say something to him it will become worse Mark. Please just leave it alone."

"I can't do that," he said as he followed her and locked the car behind him, "This has gone on long enough and if he can't see that he's putting a time bomb on his relationship with his friends then I'm going to point it out to him because nothing that he's doing is okay and it sure as hell shouldn't be okay with you Alexandra."

She stopped and crossed her arms. A car horn was honked and they both moved out of the way into the empty parking spot next to their car.

"He's angry at Addison. It's just coming out sideways. Until he actually deals with Addison, he's going to keep doing the same thing. Nothing you say is going to change that," Lexie snapped back at him.

"And that's why I'm going to talk to him today," Mark told her firmly, "Lexie he's got his head in the sand and the sooner someone pulls it out the better it will be for everyone else. Even the nurses are threatening not to work with him."

Lexie shook her head, "Do what you want to Mark but until he solves this with Addison…nothing is going to change. You can talk till you're blue in the face, Derek won't care or listen."

Mark wrapped his arms around her, "Well then at least I can say I tried at the end of the day."

"Mark you always try to reason with Derek," she told him, "When has it ever worked?"

"Maybe it will work this time," he reasoned, "He might listen."

"Mark how hard did you hit your head the other day in the shower?" Lexie asked jokingly with a smile.

He laughed and kissed her cheek, "Not hard enough. I'll see you after work babe."

Lexie resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned and followed him into the hospital.

* * *

It was a little after noon when Meredith grabbed Lexie's arm roughly and dragged her into an on call room. Lexie looked at Meredith startled and yanked her arm back.

"What's wrong?" Lexie asked as she rubbed the spot that Meredith had grabbed.

"You and Doctor Sloan? What the hell is going on with that?"

Lexie felt fear flood her as she stared at Meredith, "W-w-w-what about Doctor Sloan?"

"Are you sleeping with him? I saw you and him this morning in the parking garage."

"You honked this morning?" Lexie asked in a daze.

"You two were standing in the middle of the road practically!" Meredith said defensively, "How long have you two been sleeping together? You're both married for Christ's sake."

"I'm not cheating!" Lexie defended before she could stop herself.

A look passed over Meredith's face and Lexie knew she'd been found out.

"You're married to Doctor Sloan?!" Meredith exclaimed loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" Lexie hissed back, "I don't want the whole hospital knowing!"

"I'm getting put through the ringer because I've been sleeping with Derek and you've been hiding the fact that you're actually married to one of the attending doctor? Why haven't you said anything? I've been going through hell and you've been comfortable hiding everything!"

"Meredith please, I didn't mean to hide it on purpose. It's just Mark and I thought it would be better if no one knew."

"I feel like you've been using me to fly under the radar!"

"It was never like that!" Lexie protested, "I never meant to lie to you. You have to believe me!"

The door was suddenly yanked opened and both Lexie and Meredith turned to see an annoyed looking Yang standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is going on between you two?" Christina asked as she looked into the on call room, "Everyone can practically hear you outside."

"Meredith…please don't," Lexie begged hoping that Meredith wouldn't say a word.

"Did you know that Lexie is married to plastics god Mark Sloan," Meredith said with a sneer completely ignoring Lexie. Christina looked shocked for a brief moment before turning and looking over her shoulder at George O'Malley and Alex Karev who both looked just as equal shocked.

* * *

**May 17…**

Gossip had spread like wildfire around the hospital about Lexie Grey being married to Mark Sloan and with it came plenty of taunts from other interns, hospital worker and doctors. In the first few day of the gossip spreading, plenty of people had taken pleasure in making her life as miserable as they possibly could and they still were doing it. Lexie tried to ignore it and focus on her work. According to Bailey, she was on the road to becoming one damn good surgeon if she kept working like she was and Lexie felt some pride that Bailey recognized how hard she was working. In truth, Lexie busted her ass as much as she could during her shift and always went home exhausted. For some silly reason she felt like she had to work hard to prove that she was her own person and that she didn't need Mark to become a good surgeon.

In many ways, Lexie was resentful and envious of Mark. He was a department head and no one would ever dare to do or say anything to him about the rumors or talk to him out right about it unless they really wanted to lose their job. But there was a difference between them at work. She was at the bottom of the surgical food chain as Bailey liked to remind everyone and Mark was at the very top. She took everyone's crap for both of them and it was beginning to wear on her. Lexie pushed the door open to the basement and walked down the white hallway and enjoyed the quiet hallway. There weren't any taunts or sexual innuendos about her and other doctors and she relished the peace.

If she thought being shunned with Meredith was hard, what was happening now was even worse. No one spoke to her unless they absolutely had to and there was always some knew outrageous story about how she'd married Mark for his money or because he could open doors for her that not many could. Plenty of the other female interns led by Izzy Stevens believed that she'd tricked Mark into marrying her for different reasons including that she'd faked a pregnancy and had blackmailed him. Nothing in high school had ever prepared her for the amount of crap she was facing now. She'd been desperately trying to ignore everything they said and did but it didn't mean that her feelings still weren't hurt. Mark had started distancing himself at work and she knew that he thought it would help her with her co-workers if he wasn't around but even his cold shoulder hurt.

Setting the brown bag lunch she'd tossed together in the cafeteria, Lexie hopped up onto an abandoned bed in rested her back against the cold cement wall. It felt good because in truth her body ached for the added stress of everything. Her muscles were sore and her feet hurt from constantly moving and working. Seeing Mark sleep in earlier had made her jealous and Lexie was shaped to admit that she'd been noisy on purpose when she'd left the hotel room earlier in the morning for work. It was childish but she was in pain and she wanted him to suffer with her.

Opening the bag and taking out the green apple she'd bought, Lexie took a bite and closed her eyes. Resting her head back on the on the cool wall, she wondered when the torture would end. She knew that being married to one of the attending doctors was frowned upon but Chief Webber hadn't made a big deal about it when they met with him earlier in the year. In fact, he'd been happy when they'd told him that she'd been using her maiden name at work. They'd already planned to down play their connection at work and Webber had been fine with it. She hoped that in a few weeks the shock would wear off and people would move on to the next piece of gossip and forget about her.

Taking a second bite of her apple, Lexie could feel the bed move a little. She didn't bother opening her eyes because she could smell the cologne. Mark had worn the same aftershave for as long as she'd known him and it was a comforting smell. She could fell his warm body next to hers as the sounds of the brown paper bag crinkling made her smile a little.

"Don't even think about raiding my food," she said slowly opening her eyes to see him checking out the contents of the bag.

"Don't you have anything healthy in here besides and apple? All I see are candy bars and a thing of chocolate milk," Mark said, "Your teeth are gonna be rotten by the time your thirty."

"That's not that far off."

"Exactly, that's my point babe."

Lexie shook her head and grabbed the bag away from him. She tucked it in her lap and rested her head against his shoulder as she finished eating her apple. Sitting on the bed, Lexie felt a wave of exhaustion hit her and she couldn't believe how tired she felt both mentally and physically. Her lunch break would be over soon and it would be back to the grind stone. She didn't mind it so much because working took her mind off the other problems she had in life. Lexie could feel Mark rest his cheek against the top of her head and for a single moment everything felt right. She felt safe and she felt loved. There wasn't much Mark could do for her in the stick predicament they were in without making things worse but him just sitting with her felt good.

"I'm sorry I was noisy this morning," she said quietly.

"I was already awake," Mark told her softly as he turned and pressed his lips to her hair, "Don't worry about it."

"Why were you awake?"

"I was thinking about Derek," he confessed, "He's been moody for weeks and I'm just about ready to punch him if the face."

Lexie nodded but didn't say anything. It was true. Derek had been moody for weeks to everyone including Meredith. They both knew it was because Addison was calling and looking for him. She wanted to talk with him and Derek was too angry to even see her let alone have a conversation with her. Lexie could understand that Derek was angry. She'd probably be furious too if Mark ever cheated on her but there came a time when Derek would have to talk to Addison. He was hitting the self-destruct button on many of his relationship with family and friends and it hurt them all. Mark and Derek had been friends since they were boys and Lexie knew that Mark wasn't taking Derek's plan of cutting everyone out of his life that remind him of Addison well.

Lexie was about to speak up and tell Mark that everything would be okay when her cell phone rang. Taking the cell phone out of her scrub pocket, Lexie sat up straight and looked at the screen. The number was unlisted which was strange. Mark looked at her with a raised brow as she hit the answer button and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Is this Lexie Sloan's phone?"

Lexie's heart nearly stopped in her chest.

"Addison?"

* * *

**May 20…**

It was almost one o'clock in the morning when a pounding on the door woke Mark. He reached for the lamp and blearily flicked the light on. The bed next to him was empty which wasn't surprising. Grabbing a white t-shirt, Mark slipped it over his head as he walked to the door of their suite.

"Crap," he groaned looking through the peep hole. Derek stood angrily on the other side of the door with his hands on his hips. He looked furious and Mark had a feeling it had to do with the phone call Addison had made to Lexie a few days before. Unlocking the door, Mark opened it and stared tiredly at his best friend's angry face.

"Is she here?" Derek asked angrily as he pushed himself into the suite.

"Addison?" Mark asked feeling confused.

"Lexie," Derek corrected, "Where the hell is Lexie!"

"Why?"

"Because I want to know what she told Addison," Derek yelled, "Addison called her and they spoke now Addison won't leave me alone and keeps leaving messages about how we have to talk! She wants to know more about my life here and crap like that! So, I want to know what Lexie told Addison!"

It was strange to Mark to see Derek so angry. He didn't think his best friend was capable of as much anger as he was spouting off. Running his fingers through his hair, Mark hoped that Lexie was tied up at the hospital with something because if Derek saw her right now he'd probably go crazy.

"Listen," Mark said calmly, "Addison called Lexie two days ago asking about you because you, her husband, won't talk to her. It's time to talk to her Derek. I know you're angry and you have every right to be but taking this out on other people isn't helping. Lexie did nothing wrong in speaking with Addison."

"That's bullshit! She should have kept her mouth shut and stayed out of it!"

"You're forcing her to pick a side and that's not fair to her," Mark said trying to rein in his own anger and frustration, "We've had this conversation before Derek. Let's not have it again."

Derek was about to reply when the front door opened and closed. The sound of key's dropping and moved alerted both of them that Lexie was home. Derek looked even angry than before if it was possible.

"Mark?" Lexie called.

"In here," he answered hoping to God that Derek didn't hit blow up the last thread that held his friendship with Lexie to pieces.

"Why aren't you-"

Lexie stopped in the arched walkway that led into the sitting room of the suite and looked at Derek wearily. She must have guessed the reason why he was there because she looked like she'd have rather run in the opposite direction and Mark didn't blame her. Derek stomped over to her quickly and used his hit to intimidate Lexie's small frame.

"What did you tell Addison!" he demanded, "What the hell did you tell her?"

"I'm warning you to back off right now Shepard," Mark said before Lexie could reply.

"What did you say!" Derek demanded again ignoring Mark.

Lexie looked nervous as she twisted her fingers together, "She just asked how you were and I gave her an update. Listen-"

"No, you listen to me," Derek interrupted, "Addison calls again you tell her nothing. Is that understood?"

"Derek! Stop it," Mark growled.

"This is between me and her," Derek snapped, "Stay out of this Mark! Now you listen to me Lexie! You're banned from my OR. I don't even wanna see you with in ten feet of any of my patients if you're on my service. The next time you talk to Addison about anything I will see to it that you don't see the inside of an OR till Christmas. Is that understood?"

Lexie nodded mutely. Mark had seen the look on her face a hand full of times and every time he did, Jerry Ezitka was involved. Derek left the room quickly and Lexie flinched when they heard the door slam shut. Lexie collapsed down on to the flowery couch and covered her face with her hands.

"Please tell me he didn't really mean what he said," she mumbled, "Please tell me it was just words with no real meaning behind them."

Mark stood mutely in the center of the room. He wanted to tell Lexie that it wasn't true but the feeling in his gut said otherwise. In truth, Mark thought that Derek was truly serious.

* * *

**May 31…**

Derek's threat had turned out to be true and Lexie couldn't help but resent her husband's best friend. She was angry at both Addison and Derek for not talking about things and putting her in the middle. Either way she was destined to lose one of their friendships and it made her heart ache. For the past ten days she'd been on Derek's service and he'd turned her life into a living hell as payback for everything it seemed. She was the punch bag and Derek used her well. Anything he wanted she got and he had her doing the whole Neurology department's paperwork. The day before he'd even had her cleaning out files and charting well into the night. He kept her away from his patients and the OR all the while he was sunshine and smiles around Meredith. Lexie wanted to scream at him and tell Meredith the truth about everything but Lexie couldn't bring herself to do that. Even though Meredith was still angry with her for lying about being married to Mark, Lexie wasn't going to poison the water between them anymore.

What happened between Meredith and Derek was their business and she wasn't getting in it. She'd had enough drama between Derek and Addison to last a lifetime and Meredith's drama wasn't going to be added to the mix. Lexie had a pretty good idea that in the end Meredith would be even more angry at her for not telling her about Derek's marriage and if Lexie did try and tell her about Addison, Meredith would still be angry at her. There wasn't a winning situation in any of the problems she had between Derek, Addison and Meredith. At the end of the day someone was going to be mad at her and Lexie was slowly beginning to accept that.

"Is he making you do more paperwork?"

Lexie looked up from where she was sitting at the nurse's station. Alex Karev stood in front of her looking bored. Over the past few day they'd forged something like a working friendship and Lexie was grateful he was the person she could work with him and not deal with any crap about Mark.

"Is he letting you scrub in on that cool surgery with the Taylor's girl?" Lexie asked as she dropped her pen.

"Apparently I've been a good little slave this week," Alex grinned, "I get to observe the whole surgery from right next to him."

"Good for you," she said trying to not let her jealously over rule her. Alex was a good doctor and deserved the reward that Derek was giving to him.

"You know that you can sneak into the observation desk? There is going to be a lot of people there and you'll blend in."

Lexie shook her head, "Derek made it very clear that observation desks are off limits too. I think Mark might kill me though if I practice on any more of his bananas though."

Alex shrugged, "You've got to stay sharp though Grey. You don't know when you'll get called in to the game."

"I guess you're right," she said quietly picking the pen back up, "Enjoy the surgery Alex. Doctor Shepard says I'm not allowed to leave until I finish this."

"All of it?" Karev asked looking at the two large stack of charts from various doctors in the neurology department.

"Yep," Lexie replied as she popped the 'p' between her lips, "It's gonna be a long night."

"Have fun with that and get some sleep. You look like crap."

Lexie chuckled and looked down as Alex walked off towards the OR.

"He's right you know," a familiar voice said, "You do look like crap."

Lexie's head jerked up and she started at the familiar face of Addison Montgomery-Shepard.

* * *

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**So...who is ready for Addison? I'm SO SORRY for the wait! I've been trying to write this chapter for a while along with my other stories (RECOVERING4LIFE) and I've been a little over whelmed! But I have good news! This story will become a every other week update! Starting in September! Until then I will be updating every Tuesday!  
**

**Thank you to everyone who left a review! I tried to reply to every single on I could and if I missed you I'm so sorry!  
**

**See you Tuesday!**


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